Pressurized fire extinguisher



1958 c. K. HUTHSING, JR

PRESSURIZED F IRE EXTINGUISHER Filed Aug. 23, 1955 "QM M H w 2 n 20 m a.4. m a o 16 IIII'II/ IIIIII FIGI . INVENTOR. CHARLES K. HUTHSINQJR. wam

ATTO NEYS PRESSURIZED FIRE EXTINGUISHER Charles K. Huthsing, Sr., CulverCity, Calif. Application August 23,1955, Serial No. 530,024 Claims. (Cl.169-61) This invention relatesv generally to pressurized fireextinguishers, and more particularly, to an improved head assembly forportable tank type extinguishers.

Portable tank extinguishers are well known in the art and generallyinclude a head assembly embodying nozzle means and a lever actuatedvalve for releasing fluid under pressure within the tank out the nozzle.It is extremely important in such extinguishers that they may be capableof rapid and reliable operation. Towards this end, the valve means andlever in the head assembly should be designed to assure positivepositioning of the valve when it is actuated to either an open or closedposition.

It is also important in such extinguishers that the possibility ofaccidental operation be minimized. This factor is of particularsignificance when the fire extinguisher is being transported from oneplace to another under emergency conditions. In conventionalconstructions, the actuating lever for the extinguisher is disposedclose to the carrying handle, or in some instances may act as thecarrying handle itself. It will be evident, therefore, that unless theextinguisher is handled very carefully there is the possibility ofinadvertent operation.

Bearing the above in. mind, it is a primary object of the presentinvention to provide an improved head assembly for tank type pressurizedfire extinguishers including a novel valve sealing means and lockingmeans therefor in combination with a carrying handle. These elements aredesigned in such a manner that there is a minimum possibility ofunintentional operation, and yet whereby a single, intentional manualmovement is sufiicient to ready the extinguisher for immediateoperation.

More particularly, it is an object to provide a. combination locking andcarrying handle for a pressurized extinguisher in which the handleadditionally provides a conveniently positioned member for co-operativegripping with the actuating lever when operating the extinguisher.

Still another object is to provide a sealing structure and material inthe valve means in combination with the actuating lever and lockinghandle, which is extremely reliable, and long wearing in operation, butmay be easily replaced if warranted, without the necessity ofdisassembling the entire head assembly.

These and other objects and advantages of the present invention areattained by providing, in a fire extinguisher head assembly, a valvebody having an actuating lever pivoted thereto at a given point. A valvemeans, normally biased to a close position, is arranged to be openedonly upon pivoting movement of the lever. A handle is pivoted to thevalve body at a point spaced from the given point at which the lever ispivoted and is provided with means for blocking the lever when thehandle is in a first given position, whereby the lever is prevented fromopening the valve means. Pivoting of the handle to a second positionserves to simultaneously release the lever and also dispose the handlein a convenient'gripping position for operating the lever. By thisarrangement the combined locking and carrying handle is not directlyassociated with the valve mechanism except through the action of thelever and, therefore, the. valve construction may be simplified and thusrendered more reliable.

The valve means includes a plunger and valve member adapted to close anorifice between a valve chamber and a suitable nozzle forming part ofthe head assembly. Rather than a conventional type valve sealing seatwithin the chamber surrounding the orifice, in accordance with a featureof the present invention, the valve member itself is provided with anannular frusto-conically shaped seal which seats against the peripheryof the orifice when actuated towards closed position.

This seal is formed of a cold flow material which gradually, underpressure, is deformed to the exact contour of the orifice, and, therebyinsuring proper sealing over a long life. Should it be desirable tochange the seal, however, it may be simply replaced without thenecessity of disassembling the entire head assembly other than mereremoval of the plunger and valve member. An entirely new plunger andvalve member with a suitable sealing means may then be substituted, orthe seal itself may be removed from the valve member and a new sealplaced in position.

A better understanding of the manner in which the improved valve means,locking feature, and handle in the head assembly of the presentinvention operate, will be had by referring to the accompanying drawingsillustrating a preferred embodiment, and in which:

Figure l is an elevational view partly in cross section of the improvedhead assembly of this invention;

Figure 2 is a side view taken in the direction of the arrow 2 of Figure1;

Figure 3 is a view similar to Figure 1 showing the head assembly inunlocked position with the actuating lever depressed for operation; and,

Figure 4 is an enlarged cross sectional view of the valve memberincorporating the improved sealing means of the present invention.

Referring to Figure 1, there is shown a tank type portable fireextinguisher comprising a tank 10 having threadedly secured to its upperportion a head assembly valve body 11. As shown, the valve body 11defines an'interior valve chamber 12 having an orifice 13 communicatingwith a passage 14 and terminating in a nozzle 15. A valve member 16 ispositioned within the chamber 12 and movable by means of a plunger rod17 to open and close the chamber orifice 13. l

Operation of the valve member 16 is effected by means of a lever 18disposed at the top of the head assembly and pivoted to the valve bodyas at 19;. The valve member 16 is normally held against the orifice 13in its closed position by a biasing spring 20 within the valve chamber12. Fluid is admitted into the chamber 12 through a discharge tube 21extending down into the tank It). The tube 21 is secured in position tothe valve body .11 by a nut 22 opening within the bottom portion of thechamber 12. Movement of the valve member 16 to its open position iseffected by pivoting the lever 18 about the pivot point 19 to depressthe plunger rod 17. v

In order to prevent accidental operation of the valve by the lever 18,there is provided, in accordance with one.

feature of the invention, a handle 23 pivoted to the valve body as at 24at a point spaced from the pivot point 19 on the other side of theplungerrod 17. The upper portion of the handle 23 is forked to definetwo hooks25 adapted to engage a locking pin 26 rigidly secured to thelever 18, when the handle 23 is in a first given position. From Figure2, it will be evident that the forked, double walled construction of theupper portion of the handle 23, including the hooks 25, enables pivotingmovement of the handle 23 about the point 24 without interference withthe plunger rod 17 in 'thehead assembly.

Effective sealing of the plunger rod 17 at'its entrance into the valvebody 11-is provided by anut 27 centrally apertured to receive theplunger rod, and threaded into the top of the-valve body a givendistance to leave an annular space about the rod toaccommodate a seal28. A compression spring 29 is arranged to surround the rod 17 and bearagainstthe seal as shown. Threading down of the nut-27' will serve tocompress the spring 29 and thus in turn compress the seal 28 against therod.

In Figure 3, the handle 23 is shown in its unlocked position after beingpivoted about the pivot point 24 to disengage the locking pin 26,thereby leaving the lever 18 free to operate. In the-new position of thehandle 23, it will be noted that it forms a convenient gripping surfacein co-operation with the lever 18 to permit ready depression of thelever18 to push the plunger rod 17 down- \vardly into the valve body.Movement of the valve rod downwardly unseats the valve member 16 fromthe orifice 13- thereby permitting pressurized fluid from within thetank to pass up through the discharge tube 21, into the valve chamber12, through the orifice 13 and passage 14, and out the nozzle 15. Whenthe lever 18 is released, the bias spring within the valve chamber 12returns the valvemember to its closed position shown in Figure 1.

It is important that the sealing of the orifice 13 be absolutely fluidtight in order to retain proper pressure within the tank 10 and insurethat the fire extinguisher is at all times ready for operation. To thisend, the present invention provides an improved sealing means as a partof the combination in the head assembly. As shown clearly in theenlarged cross sectional view of Figure 4, this sealing means comprisesan annular sealing material 30 having a control opening through whichthe plunger rod 17 passes. A retaining nut 31 is threaded on the end ofthe plunger rod 17, and an annular head 32 of diameter greater than thediameter of the control opening in theseal is spaced upwardly from therod end a sufficient distance to accommodate the thickness of thesealing member. Tightening of the retaining nut 31 on its threadedconnection to the rod 17 serves to securely hold the seal 30 in place.

The seal 30 is formed of a material that will cold flow under pressure.A preferred sealing material having this characteristic is teflon, whichis also inert (as required) to carbon tetrachloride and other liquidsconventionally used in the extinguisher. Thus, the seal 30 graduallydeforms over a given time to completely cork the orifice 13, therebyaffording an extremely effective valvin g means.

In the event replacement of the seal is necessary, the head assembly isremoved from the tank 10 and the nut 22 supporting the discharge tube21from the bottom of the valve chamber 12. The spring 20 may then bewithdrawn and the valve plunger rod 17 and member 16 easily removed. Anew valve member may be inserted, or the seal 30 simply removed from theused valve member and a new seal inserted.

The operation of this improved extinguisher will be evident from theabove description. When the fire extinguisher is not in use, the partsof the head assembly are in the position shown in Figure 1. In thisposition,

the hooks 25 of thehandle 23 encircle a sufficient circumterentialportion of the locking pin 26 to prevent the handle 23 becomingdisengaged from the locking pin unless intentional force is applied tothe handle 23 in a counter clock-wise direction. In the position shownin Figure l, the extinguisher may be easily transported about withoutthe possibility of accidentally depressing the operating lever 18 sincepivoting motion of the lever 18 is blocked by engagement of the lockingpin 26 by the hooked portion 25 of the handle 23. V

In operating the fire extinguisher, the operator need simply grasp thehandle 23 and move it upwardly to a position adjacent the operatinglever 18 as shown in Figure 3. Such movement serves to simultaneouslyrelease the locking pin 26 and position the handle 23 adjacent theoperating lever 18 in a convenient location for gripping, whereby thelever 18 may be easily depressed with one hand. In Figure 3, the lever18 is shown in its depressed position in solid lines whereas its normaloff position is shown in dotted lines.

Depression of the lever 18 moves the plunger rod 17 downwardly to openthe chamber orifice 13 and permit pressurized fluid to pass up throughthe tube 21 and valve assembly out the nozzle 15. Release of the lever18 results in the compression spring 20 urging the valve member 16upwardly to closed position against the orifice. T he lluid flow fromthe nozzle 15 will then be cut off and the extinguisher will not againoperate until the lever 18 is depressed.

When it is desired to store the extinguisher, or simply transport itfrom one place to another, the handle 23 may be swung in a clock-wisedirection about the pivot 24 to cause the hooked portion 25 to engagethe locking pin 26, thus securing the lever 18 in its normal positionshown in Figure 1. It will be noted that this locking handle does notact directly on the valve body or plunger rod but only on the lever 1.8.This construction permits the valve assembly and sealing means to be ofsimple structures minimizes the possibilities of part failures.

Modifications of the present structure within the scope and spirit ofthe present invention will occur to those skilled in the art. Theimproved head assembly is, therefore, not to be thought of as limited tothe particular embodiment chosen for illustrative purposes.

What is claimed is:

1. In a fire extinguisher head assembly including a valve body having alever pivoted thereto and valve means normally biased to closed positionand adapted to be opened only upon pivoting movement of said lever, thecombination comprising: a manually grippable handle extending outwardlyfrom said valve body, said handle being pivoted to said valve body at apoint spaced from the point at which said lever is pivoted; andco-functioning means on said handle and lever blocking said lever frompivoting, whereby said lever is prevented from opening said valve means,said means being released from blocking said lever upon pivoting of saidhandle to a given position.

2. A head assembly according to claim 1, in which said handle, whenpivoted to said given position, is disposed adjacent said lever toprovide convenient co-functioning hand gripping means in cooperationwith said lever for pivoting the same.

3. In a fire extinguisher comprising a tank and a head assembly, havinga nozzle and a valve chamber for passing fluid under pressure withinsaid tank to said nozzle, the combination comprising: a valve bodydefining said chamber; a valve member in said valve chamber normallyclosing said chamber off from communica- .tion with said nozzle, saidvalve member having plunger means extending throughsaid valve body tothe exterior thereof; a lever pivoted to said valve body at a pointspaced to one side of said plunger means and adapted to engage saidplunger means upon pivoting movement to move said valve member and opensaid chamber to communication with said nozzle; a manually grippablehandle extending outwardly from said valve body, said handle beingpivoted to said valve body at a point on another side of said plungermeans; and means on said handle adapted to engage said lever when in afirst position to block said lever against pivoting movement wherebysaid lever is prevented from moving said plunger means, said means onsaid handle being released from blocking said lever upon pivoting ofsaid handle to a given position.

4. A fire extinguisher, according to claim 3, in which orifice and saidcentral opening of said seal; an annular 6 head about said rod at itspoint of entrance through said seal, said bead having a diameter greaterthan the diameter of said central opening; and a retaining means securedto the end portion of said rod, whereby said seal is secured betweensaid bead and said retaining 10 means 5. A fire extinguisher accordingto claim 4, in which said seal comprises a cold flow material whereby itis adapted to sealably engage the entire periphery of said orifice.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,533,685 Nurkiewicz Dec. 12, 1950

